Luke Witherow named in the Ireland Hockey squad for World Cup qualifiers in Chile

Luke Witherow has been named in the Ireland squad for their FIH Hockey World Cup qualifiers in Santiago, Chile, next month.

The Convoy man, who plays for Banbridge, was named in the 20-man panel by head coach Mark Tumilty for the games in South America.

Ireland have been drawn in Pool B of the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers and will begin their qualification bid against Canada (#19) on Sunday, March 1 at 3pm Irish Time, in their first meeting since Canada denied Ireland a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2019. 

The team will then face Korea (#16) on Tuesday, March 3 at 2.15pm, whom Ireland beat in 2024 to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games, before ending their campaign with a meeting with Poland (#24) on Wednesday, March 4 at 12pm, as the team look to avenge their shootout loss in the EuroHockey Championship Qualifiers in Dublin in 2024.

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The team could come up against France (#9), Wales (#15), Scotland (#20), or Chile (#22) should they manage to progress out of the pool. 

Ireland will need to achieve a top-three finish overall in the competition to secure their place, finishing in the top two places in the pool and winning either their semi-final tie or the 3rd/4th Place Play-Off match if required.

Speaking at the announcement, Head Coach Mark Tumilty said:

“The squad have worked exceptionally hard to ensure we are in the best position to earn qualification for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. We have a very strong group travelling to Chile, whom I have the utmost confidence in to get the job done.

“Our objective is simple: return to the FIH Hockey World Cup. We know it won’t be an easy task, but we are ready for the challenge.”

Ireland Men’s Squad: Jaime Carr, Luke Roleston, Greg Williams, Luke Witherow, Fergus Gibson, Lee Cole, Kyle Marshall, Mark McNellis, Sam Hyland, Peter McKibbin, Peter Brown, Johnny McKee, Adam McAllister, Sean Murray, Jonny Lynch, Jeremy Duncan, Ben Walker, Matthew Nelson, Louis Rowe, Ali Empey.